


Nights in the Woods

by MarbleGargoyle



Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Demonic Possession, Gen, Older!Dipper, Older!Mabel, Post-Series, based on Hoichi the Earless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-20 14:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4791434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarbleGargoyle/pseuds/MarbleGargoyle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due to an accident, Wirt was briefly back in the Unknown and it was just long enough to make a deal with the Beast: his unhindered return for seven nights of playing concerts for the Beast in a small town in Oregon.</p><p>Well, things can't go anymore wrong than they already have, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Deal?

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, folks! This work was based on the Japanese tale of Hoichi the Eearless. For the people that know the story, don't worry. There won't be any ear thefts. Also, my first story on AO3! I hope you like it.

The crunching snow all that accompanied him as Wirt walked through a familiar forest. Shivering, he rubbed his biceps and continued on his way. His yellow sweater nor his black trousers did not retain heat well, and were virtually no defence against the whistling wind. How Wirt even ended up in these woods was a foggy mystery. All he remembered was following Sara and his friends to an old well in the cemetery, not the forest. He's pretty sure it wasn't winter when they left either. _Yeah, summer break had just started, right?_

A rich, wavering bass cut through the silence before Wirt could delve into his thoughts more. That singing just couldn't be...

Wirt paused, but where he stopped, the singing became louder. Closer. He took a step back, wincing at the echoing snap of a twig being stepped on. The voice halted, and the resulting quiet emphasized how one mistake could lead the teen into the grasp of someone he thought he'd never even hear again. Wirt dared not to breathe. Then, the voice resumed at a murmur. Right behind Wirt.

Whatever air still left in his lungs let out in a gasp as he spun around, creating some distance in the process. The Beast was taller than Wirt remembered. His antlers were longer, thicker, and more arched diagonally than before, and the silhouette of his fur coat seemed wilder. The Beast's eyes had remained bright like deadlights in the gloom of the forest.

"Welcome back to my woods, child."

_Oh, no. Nononono. This is not happening._

"Beast! How--What--?" Realizing his voice was breaking in his anxiety, Wirt cleared his throat then asked, "Why are you here?"

The Beast chuckled. "I come to all those lost in the woods. To you, in particular, because of our history."

Right, like Wirt would forget the guy that had figured out his greatest weakness and basically threatened him with it. He should count himself lucky he wasn't turning into Edelwood this very moment.

"I'm not lost." Wirt said, sounding more confident than he felt.

"Oh? If you are not lost then you can enlighten me as to where we are." The Beast inquired.

Wirt wrung his hands as he discreetly glanced around the clearing: nothing but trees, the occasional shrub, and a solid gray blanket for a sky. He honestly had no idea where he was. "We're near... Pottsfield?"

The silence that followed was somehow condescending and pitying simultaneously. Wirt fidgeted in place as the Beast merely shook his head.

It was broken when the Beast sighed, "Truly do I wonder how you returned home, but then I remember you had young Gregory and that bluebird to help you. It's a pity they're not here now."

 _That's true, isn't it?_ Wirt thought.  _I never could have found my way home without them._

But Wirt had nobody to help him this time. No Greg to keep his spirits up. No Beatrice to direct him. Not even the Woodsman was nearby to warn him and give Wirt those directions to Pottsfield. A pit could open up and swallow him whole for all he cared because the teen was facing a malevolent being with no Dark Lantern and no axe in sight. A being that would hardly need to use much energy to snuff out his existence. Wirt could hear his heart cracking in despire--

Wait, no, that isn't his heart! It was branches! Edelwood branches were sprouting from the ground and pinning Wirt in place. It seemed all they needed to spring after him was one moment of hopelessness. Despite Wirt's struggling and only feeling abject horror now, the tree continued to grow at a steady pace while the Beast started singing a song; one about chopping wood which only fed Wirt's panic more and  _he definitely would rather have been taken by the pit than this!_

Wirt searched through his memories of the last encounter he had with the Beast, trying to find a way out of the tree encasing his hips. An axe was no where in sight and the teen couldn't reach for it anyways. The lantern was out of view as well.  _Come on, Wirt! Think!_ Then, like a will o' wisp darting about the fog of his mind, he remembered something the Beast had said to him.

_"Perhaps we better make a deal. "_

Breathing became difficult as the tree molded around his chest, but Wirt took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and shouted, "I want to make a deal!"

Time stretched to a snail crawl as the Beast went quiet in his consideration of the request. Then, he asked, "A deal? What kind of deal could you offer?"

"A-anything! Some trees chopped? Sure! Some clarinet songs or-or poetry? Really, anything as long let me go home." Wow, did begging lower Wirt's self-esteem. Worth it if he got to see Greg again.

Wirt didn't to open his eyes to face the Beast. Not that he had a choice since the receding Edelwood startled him enough to do so.

"I will let you go home on the condition that you travel to a town in Oregon. Gravity Falls, if I remember correctly. There you will spend seven nights playing concerts for me in the forest." The Beast named his terms. As abrupt his first appearance had been, the silhouette was gone. Seeing a path he didn't notice before, Wirt frantically ran to it and heard one last warning from the Beast.

"If you do not uphold your end of the deal then you and Gregory will find yourselves as Edelwood trees in my forest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling kinda iffy about the characterization. Eh, I might just need more practice. And a beta. Bye for now, guys~!


	2. Night One: Welcome to the Mystery Shack!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon entering the Falls, some worries are soothed and many more crop up in their places. That's before he even steps into the woods at night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, people! Yeah, sorry about the wait, but I caught wind of Weirdmageddon as I was writing this out and I decided to wait for it to come out. Thank everything I did because the plot threads it inspired. I am in awe.

The coss country trip to Gravity Falls was uneventful, smooth, and quite relaxing. Well, relaxing in the sense that his body could rest on soft car seats while his mind raced and panic attacks nearly overcame him multiple times. Wirt couldn't remember approaching the subject of a road trip across the continent to his family after looking up the place, but he did. It was all a blur as to how his mom and step dad agreed on going to this, but maybe that brochure for the town made it seem like a harmless place. The tourist trap located near town was probably a factor. 

From his research, the Mystery Shack ran tours through select parts of the forest, other novelty shops were relatively close by for variety, and that the town had a horrible secret. Seriously, what normal town has a "Never Mind All That" law with a paragraph for the description that revealed nothing about why the law was passed? It could be why the Beast demanded his presence there and  _there was nothing he could find out about it_.

It was things like that that can make a guy pace a hole into his floor.

"Wirt! Wirt! The sign's coming up! We're nearly there!" Greg's excited chatter had Wirt blinking away his recollection, turning his head from the treeline to the child wriggling in his seat.

"We are, huh?" He discreetly yawned into his hand; worrying so much had kept him from sleeping. "Where are you thinking of going to first?"

Greg settled down some, replying, "The Mystery Shack! Or, wait, maybe the laser tag place. Then again, there's the arcade. Aw, beans, I just can't decide!"

"We can go to the Shack first and leave the other stuff for the rest of the week." Their mom interjected as they drove into town.

Gravity Falls was, in a way, exactly what Wirt had expected yet somehow odd to him. The knowledge of the law or the atmosphere surrounding it, he can't be sure, but the town seemed condensed in an unknown force. Like what he felt in the woods of the Unkno-

Nope, not bringing that horror show up when he needed to be focused on watching out for Greg.

They found a motel next to the library and set out with cameras and phones in pockets after dragging the luggage inside their room. Walking around the town and seeing the sights had given Wirt peace in the normalcy of the admittedly charming little town, helping him to relax and enjoy the experience with his family. Greg seemed to pick up on the change if how he was flitting about farther from Wirt was any indication. As they were walking toward the tourist shop, some of the peace lifted, leaving anxiety in its wake that was only fueled by how close they were to the forest. Wirt could brush a hand against a tree if he wanted to. A tug on his left sleeve shifted his gaze to Greg, the kid beaming a grin at him before scrunching his face into a serious expression.

"Don't worry, brother o' mine. That old Beastie won't get you as long as I'm around."

If that was meant to comfort him, it really didn't because then who'd protect his little brother from that evil tree thing? He really regretted telling Greg about the deal, but he didn't have any other way to explain the revival of his nightmares after falling down the well in the graveyard.

Wirt just patted the nine year old's head, saying, "I know that, Greg. I'm just worried about the tigers in the woods."

"What? There's  _tigers_ in the forest? Are they magical flying tigers?" Greg hopped along the beaten path, practically vibrating with excitement and had Wirt panicking by straying too close to the trees. He went over to the child, taking his hand to guide him away from there as the adults moved to inspect the totem pole when a voice startled him.

"I don't know about magical tigers, but there are some pretty amazing stuff in there."

Upon swirling around to face the stranger, Wirt saw a younger teenager in a suit before them. The black suit accented his body, particularly at the shoulders, and gave him a sophisticated air that was only encouraged by his confident posture. Though the trucker hat on his head was out of place and was the eight ball cane really necessary?

Greg stepped toward the teen causing his brother to come along with him. "What kind of amazing things?"

He leaned forward a bit on his cane, grinning at the boy's enthusiasm. "Well, I don't want to spoil anything, but we do have a bottomless pit. You'll have to go on the tour to find out about the rest."

One look at his brother's wide, pleading eyes had any protest dying. "Fine. Where do we go to sign up?"

"No sign ups. If you want to go, just follow the group when the tour starts and you'll pay after it. That's the Mabel difference as my sister would say." He stepped away, pausing before leaving entirely to say, "The tour's in about ten minutes."

 

Despite his reservations about the woods, Wirt still joined the small crowd with Greg when the teen called for their attention.

"Welcome to a world of mystery, everyone! Today's tour will be short, but I have some great things to show you," He gestured with the cane to the east where a small wooden sign could be seen in the distance. "Follow me to the popular Bottomless Pit. For a dollar, you can throw something in it."

They moved to the black hole in the ground, tourists chattering and some paying the fee to throw something into the pit. Greg had a grand time leaning as far as Wirt's iron grip would allow into the pit, trying to see how deep it was and giving both Wirt and the tour guide heart attacks. He compromised on his curiosity by giving the kid a dollar to throw a rock into the pit. Next came the crystal tree grove along with a warning not to touch any of the light shining through the shards. When questioned by the group, the guide handwaved it as the rays being powerful enough to hurt their eyes, but Wirt suspected it had something to do with the tiny animals littering the ground. He had to dissuade Greg from sneaking some deer into his pocket  _and_ not to go near the lights more than once.

After the crystals was a hike to a metal tree with unknown origins. According to the teen, strange noises had been heard coming from this part of the forest and the next day there was this tree, identical to every other pine except for the hollow, metallic sound it gives when tapped on. The stop was more like a breather for the people than anything more exciting. Wirt didn't have the same luxury as them; it felt like eyes were watching him, dark shadows occasionally darted around at the corner of his eye, every snap of a branch would have him clutching his little brother's hand tighter and drawing him closer to act as a buffer if needed.

This didn't escape the guide nor Greg's notice, and it was with due haste they moved on to the next attraction: a statue of a smartly dressed triangle.

"What we have here is the infamous Bill Cipher, a demon worshipped by a crazy cult. It's said that he was a master of the mind and could help you gain anything your heart desired, but for a price." Here, he grinned and said, "Speaking of prices, it's ten dollars for a picture and twenty for a group one."

The crowd groaned at the price, but it didn't stop them from throwing money at the teen. No, literally, they threw dollars at his direction and he had to pick them up as the people went closer to the statue. Wirt could only stare and shake his head at what he had witnessed. And stop his brother from following suit, of course.

When the crowd dispersed a bit, the brothers came up to the statue. The triangle had a pose he vaguely recognized as one someone would have after snapping his fingers; the right hand still had that post-snap form with the index finger completely outstretched and the other hand on the left sharp angle. It had only one wide eye showing what Wirt thought was probably glee and the whole thing barely came up to his stomach even with the small mount under it. He could appreciate the impressively fine craftmanship that went into the statue, but not really anything else about it. He turned to leave when he heard the song.

" _There is a_ _light for the lost made of stone_ _..._ "

Heart racing, Wirt swirled back to the statue, seeing his worst nightmare standing there. The Beast had a hand on the statue's top hat as though considering it for some reason before he turned his head to regard Wirt.

" _Here, Wirt. Come here._ "

"Wirt?"

He blinked, gasping out breaths and shaking all over as though he were recovering from drowning again, frentic tugging on his sleeve helping to clear his mind. Another few blinks and he became aware of a body in front of him, hands gripping his shoulders. The guide was there, worry in his expression.

"Hey, um, Wirt, right? You OK?" He asked, then questioned in a quieter tone, "Did you see anything? Maybe heard? Like a high pitch laugh or an oddly shaped shadow?"

Now that the sudden panic was subsizing, Wirt craned his head to the right to see past the teen to the statue. Nothing was there anymore. He took a deep breath, replying, "No, I didn't see anything. Ju-Just some bad memories cropping up at the wrong moment."

The skepticism was clear in his eyes, but the teen backed off and returned to the oblivious crowd lingering near the edge of the clearing. Wirt sighed in relief, glad that no one else could potentially be caught in his situation yet guilty because he seemed genuinely concerned about him. He looked down to his brother.

Greg clung to his sleeve, worry and protectiveness clouding his expression. "Did you see the Beast, Wirt?"

"Yeah," Wirt said, taking one last glance at the statue before moving to rejoin the crowd, "But it's alright, Greg. He isn't anything we can't handle, right?"

"That's right! We beat that mean old shadow once so we can do it again!"

"Hey, not so loud!"

Night had taken over, and Wirt awaited any sign of when to head out into the forest. The hour was late when he fell asleep, Greg tucked to his side already sleeping, and that was when the sign woke him up. In the form of singing because, of course, the Beast was predictable like that.

" _Come wayward souls_."

Quietly, Wirt got up from the bed and pulled out his suitcase from under it. He rifled through it, taking his navy blue cape out and throwing it on. Now he was ready to go into the woods. Wirt paused at the doorway, hesitating yet one glance at Greg steeled his resolve.

He just hoped it wasn't a trap.

 

Frantic knocking disturbed Dipper's immersion into his research of the floating eyes mentioned in Journal 3. He found it was near one am and debated whether to go down and answer the door. On one hand, knocking like that could be the police after they found out about Grunkle Stan's renewed money forging ring. On the other, it could be someone in trouble. He decided to go find out when Stan started yelling at him to answer the door.

Unbidden, the image of the teen that had gone still and pale at the sight of Bill, of the little boy that tried to shake him out of it, came to mind and Dipper hoped this had nothing to do with them. A look at who was at the door destroyed any hope he had about that.

It was the boy, shouting as he grabbed the teen's wrist and started yanking him out of the house, "You've gotta help us!"

"Whoa, hold on. What's going on?"

"My brother! He isn't in the motel and I don't know these woods so I need someone to help me find him."

He could hear his family stirring which was good since a lost boy in the forest needed a full search party. That reminded him of an important detail.

Dipper took his wrist back and crouched down. "Where are your parents? Something like this needs to be told to them and the police."

The kid's gaze flickered from him to the forest, indecision warring with worry. "They can't really help him."

All mental alarms blaring, Dipper ignored Mabel's sleepy questioning, focus entirely on the child in front of him as he asked, "And why is that?"

"I don't think he'd want.." Something hardened in his gaze, determined eyes meeting his as he spoke, "He made a deal I want him out of. Will you help me?"

Dipper recognized the stare of a fellow protective brother, making his reply easy. "Yes."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were wondering about the time line, it's three years after the events of Over the Garden Wall and four years after Gravity Falls. Thank you for your patronage, my lovely readers.


	3. Night 2: From the Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night reveals some secrets and clouds others. Now, another night of uncertainty begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say thanks to everyone who commented and left kudos! You guys are so sweet and inspire me throughout the writing process. :D  
> I'm feeling kinda iffy about the chapter, but it should be well enough. The Palmer-Whelan last name for Wirt and Greg is from the Mystery Best Friends series skimmingthesurface and SylviaW1991 created. Their stories are simply amazing.

_He nearly forgot his clarinet and rushed back for it. After that setback, the teen followed the melody that haunted his dreams and nightmares alike deep into the woods. Now he traveled by the light he saw in the distance, a yellow that glared into his eyes and impossible to miss in the pitch darkness. It was really starting to look like a trap, but he couldn't put Greg in danger..._

 They searched all night for the missing boy, no stone unturned nor clearing explored. The dense forest gave up its secrets reluctantly, and a teen lost in it, fate unknown, seemed to be one of them. The outing wasn't a complete waste as Dipper might have thought; the little boy, Greg told an account of the journey through the Unknown, however kid-friendly and detail lacking it was. The older brother had a more mature view of the events, he was sure, if only they could find him. The group had splintered into two after the first hour with the grunkles searching the west and the twins with the kid combing the east. That was when, a good half hour before sunrise, Dipper found something.

Dipper turned to Mabel, gesturing to go west with Greg. "Go get Ford and Stan. "

She shot him a questioning look, but complied, leading the boy away. At their leave, he turned back to the camera on his phone, zoomed in as far as the light from his flashlight would allow, and through the screen came a jade green gleam in a small depression covered by roots. Details filtered in slowly as the teen cautiously made his way to the odd alignment as the soft, wispy illumination guided him to the hollow cage and the intangible body that only through his camera he could see. Dipper was comforted that the other teen didn't seem to be in pain, but grew more worried that he was apparently sleeping in the knots of wood. The teen had his hands folded on his stomach and lain on his back; a form that eerily reminded Dipper of a body in a casket.

This wasn't the work of Cipher. His possessions left the victim in the Mindscape, unseen by anyone and anything, and the soul didn't sleep since physical necessities had no sway over it. The roots were another piece to the puzzle of what could have done this, but the image looked grim. The creature was obviously powerful if it can separate souls from their bodies and control plant life. He knelt down and took a hold of the root across Wirt's shoulders. Then, a foot came down on his hand, Dipper jerking it back with a yelp and scrambling away.

The sight of the teen, expression blank yet observant, standing there made his heart stop. As Dipper stood up and put distance between them, the possessed boy did nothing. His eyes seemed to glow a faint green, pupils dilated even in the light, and he was unnaturally still. On a hunch, he raised up his phone and adjusted the camera, then snapped a picture. The solid white eyes that glowed intently were the only defining feature as the rest of it was cast in shadow. Not even having a flashlight revealed anything about the creature behind Wirt's body nor the black vines coiled around his throat. No detail, there was just darkness.

Then the seized body spoke, "Do not interfere."

"You're the Beast, aren't you?" Dipper questioned, continuing with, "Just what are yo-"

"Wirt!"

With barely any time to spare, Dipper grabbed the boy around the waist before he rushed over to the hostile being. He fought his hold, settling down as he noticed the glow. Muscles he didn't realize were tensed had eased when he heard the multiple footsteps of his family joined them. Throughout all of this, the Beast stood there, watching.

Grunkle Stan yawned, appearing disinterested despite his sharp gaze on the possessed boy. "This the kid we're looking for?"

"Yeah. Well, I mean, his body at least. His soul is under those roots there." Dipper explained, and set Greg down. He was surprised to see the boy sternly staring at his brother's body, not quite a glare considering the subject he saw.

"Beast."

The teen's head tipped in a nod, as though greeting an equal. "Gregory."

During the exchange, Ford came closer to Dipper and saw the image on his phone. "Fascinating."

"Seen anything like this, Grunkle Ford?" 

Before he could answer, the first rays of sunlight showed the roots stirring, moving away from the dip in the ground and Wirt's body slumped into it. There was no holding Greg back from going to his brother, and the younger twins followed him as the older cased the area. As Dipper pulled him out, Greg hovering and helping with the limbs when he could, Mabel reached up to a low branch and unhooked something from it.

"Hey, look at this old lantern." She displayed the metal torch to them.

Dipper dragged the unconscious body a few inches, arms wrapped around his torso. "Great, Mabel. Now help me with him."

"That's the Woodsman's lantern!" exclaimed Greg, dropping the leg he was holding out of the ditch. "How did it get here?"

"We can focus on that later. You boys need to go home." Ford came over and picked up Wirt, slinging him over his shoulder.

Three hours passed, and Wirt woke up in the bland bedroom his family had rented. He sat up a bit, rubbing his eyes, and yawned. A groggy look around the yielded nothing new from when he last saw it; Greg curled against his side, little arms twined around his left arm. It sounded like his parents were up and moving in the tiny living area of the motel room. He didn't think much of it as he tried to recall what happened last night.

_Bright light. Stone crumbling. An echoing crackle. A strange feeling of separating from something._

Wirt shook his head, dismissing the remnants of what must have been a dream. He settled down for some more sleep.

 

Dipper sipped from his mug, coffee keeping him awake. "So what do you think this is?"

Ford hummed, alternating between inspecting the lantern on the kitchen table and the image on the phone in his hand. There was silence as they sat pondering the mystery affecting the two boys who came to town only a day ago. The elder had no information on the creature called the Beast, but he determined that it was a foreign entity to Gravity Falls and from the mortal plane itself if he had pieced together Greg's story correctly and what they witnessed last night.

"This is just an ordinary lantern someone hung on a tree and forgot about. Now, the picture on the other hand," he tapped the screen, zooming it in a particular section. "Did you notice the vines? It could be that this 'Beast' fellow can't fully possess a body, hence why he went away at sunup."

"What's so special about sunup?"

"I don't know; there are too many factors to pinpoint only one or two." Ford sighed, rubbing his eyes. "In any case, we need to keep up our strength to help these children. Go rest, Dipper."

 

The day passed as usual for both families. The Palmer-Whelan family spent it out in the lake while the Pines managed their tourist trap with Soos and Melody. Then, close to midnight, the inhabitants of the Mystery Shack experienced a break-in like no other. It started out normally with the science-inclined twins researching in the basement, Mabel knitting a sweater as she watched TV with Stan, and the rest of the house quiet. The sound of the vending machine opening and pounding steps broke the peace.

Dipper came running into the living room, yelling, "Guys! We have a problem!"

Glass crashing in the kitchen had them hurrying to the location. The window had been broken in, dead vines mixed with bits of glass under it. Stan grumbled in displeasure then went to get a broom. Dipper came up to the window, looking out of it for what had done the damage.

"It was Wirt, wasn't it?" Mabel questioned as she did a once-over of the room. "What do you think he wanted from us?"

"Technically, it was the Beast. While Ford was digging up some books from his bookshelf, I saw Wirt on the property with a darkness behind him through the monitors."

Suddenly, she gasped and rushed to a top cabinet, searching through it as Dipper turned to watch.

"My edible glitter!" She pulled the bag out and started to pet it. "Shush, you're safe now."

Dipper rolled his eyes and stepped up to the table, something nagging at him about it. His eyes widened when he realized what was missing.

"Mabel, where's the lantern?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed the cliff hangers these last few chapters, but there's nothing to see here, folks. No gaping void of unknown monsters nor a river of black oil below the cliff.
> 
> In fact, there is no cliff at all.
> 
> ... Why do you all have pitch forks and torches?


	4. Daylight Reprieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wirt and Bill have a good old heart-to-whatever-the-heck-Bill-has-for-a-heart about villains laying out their plans for domination for everyone to know just when it seems like the heroes can't do jack shit about it during their first night together. At least, before the conversation steadily reaches foreboding ominousness...
> 
> AKA what Wirt does while in a pseudo-mindscape with a severely lacking in reality warping powers Bill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Sorry about the wait, but I was living under a rock for the past months. The rock of achievement that is!
> 
> ... Yeah, I got a job and it's cutting into my free time. But for achieving financial stability, one must manage their time with what they're given, huh?

_"Old Birch Tree really made a big deal out of you, and what do I get when he brings his 'mortal anchor' or however he put? A kid with even more anxiety and self-esteem problems than **Pine Tree**!" _ The last two words were a booming shrill, sharp and dripping venom contrasting the sugary tone before it. Wirt winced as he rubbed an ear and shifted a bit, unsure of what was going on.

Of all horrors he could have imagined being led to, a two dimensional triangle with only one eye, a top hat, and golden cane did not meet any of his expectations. At all. Frankly, it was starting to get kinda cute the way it (he?) was fuming, ranting at the sky, shaking the small cane at it. Although, why did the voice have to be so high-pitched? Wirt would've preferred listening to the Beast, honestly. Speaking of that wooden despair monster, where had he went off to in such a hurry?

The teen tuned back to the yellow shape when it seemed to have settled with grumbling, stick thin arms crossed over its chest _(?). "This'll work just fine for that selfish twig, but what am I supposed to do with a useless human? It's not like I can summon a piano anymore, even in this space."_

 _"_ Yeah, I'm right here. Never left, actually." Wirt drummed his fingers against the cool metal of his clarinet, all imminent-danger-warning feelings gone and replaced with calm-ish nerves about the situation. Without the fear clouding his mind, the triangle seemed familiar somehow. "So, are you gonna tell me your plans for me?"

 _"What."_ Completely deadpan with no hint of a real question behind it. Wirt gulped at having the full force of its one eyed stare on him.

"W-Well, I mean, this is where, in my experience, people start sprouting off how they did it all, what they're going to do next, and even why they did it sometimes."

" _That's ridiculously stupid; who in their right mind tells_   _the enemy what's next on the agenda when the mere possibility of them escaping an **d foiling everything you've worked tO ACHIEVE IS STILL EXISTING!**_ " It started off relatively calm, but the triangle steadily grew angered, capsizing in the hollering yell at the end that had Wirt firmly clasping his hands over his ears. It even changed in color to red and a random bush surrounding the strangely bright clearing burst into flames.

Realizing the thing was seriously expecting an answer after a bit of silence, the human stumbled to find the right answer. "I have no idea. Maybe they feel confident about their plan succeeding or something?"

" ** _Confident? More like ARROGANT TO ME, KID!_** " Aw, man, he only riled it up more. " _ **NO EVIL SPREADING MADMAN OR WOMAN WORTH THEIR SALT WOULD DO SUCH A ROOKIE MISTAKE, OR ELSE THEY WANTED THE GOODY TWO SHOES TO WIN AFTER ALL!**_ "

"Well, you must have done something similar to end up like this!" He really shouldn't be yelling back, but how else would Wirt have been heard over the mini forest fire roaring its anger like its maker was doing? Besides that, he remembered what the tour guide had said about the triangle; it had a cult once and those types of organizations tended to have world domination on the mind, in Wirt's opinion.

A cane poked him on the forehead, the poker seemly calm now as he asks, " _Is that what Pine Tree said? A_ cult _?_ " Here, he burst into maniacal laughter. " _I haven't had a cult in years! Hey, maybe that's not a bad idea.._."

Wirt just knew this would continue to drag on if he didn't change the subject soon. "So," He settled down onto the grass, placing the clarinet off to the side. "Wanna fill me in on what happened before I came here at the very least?"

The triangle gave him the stink eye. " _I can read your mind. I know what you're doing, Pilgrim._ "

He had to wince at that because, yeah, the mind reading was plain unnerving. But he forged ahead regardless, "Was that a yes or no?"

A beat of silence passed before the strange creature sighed dramatically, floating down to Wirt's new eye level and reclining backward like he was resting on a lounge chair. " _Need I assume you know anything at all?_ " At Wirt's nagetive confirmation, he rolled his eye and continued, " _Shouldn't have asked, really. Welp, kiddo, I'd love to help you, but I can't part with the info."_

He watched Wirt stutter in surprise before commenting, " _Yeah, real shame. Although, I could be convinced if you'd just agree,"_ His eye flashed blue as a similarly colored flame poofed in and out of existence around his right hand, " _To, say, a small favor?"_

"A favor?" He didn't exactly like where this was going. 

" _An exchange of information, if you will. You inform me of what's going on in the Mystery Shack, maybe do a tiny job for me, and I'll shed some light to the secrets in Gravity Falls."_ He tapped under his eye, but above his little bowtie; Wirt figured if he had it, it'd be a chin he was tapping thoughtfully. " _Perhaps even the Unknown, if you don't mess with our plans."_

 _The Mystery Shack?_ The teen thought, but instead questioned, "That's all?"

" _Yep!"_ This time the color and flame stayed as he offered his hand to Wirt. " _Just shake my hand and it'll be finalized."_

It couldn't be that easy to know what was going on. Not without consequences and potential puppetry and betrayal and maybe even he wouldn't necessarily give the  _correct_ information...

But could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone's been watching too many detective movies, eh, Wirt?
> 
> So this has been an extra that I hope you enjoyed reading, but don't worry, the story will resume shortly.
> 
> Thanks for reading! :)


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